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2555 Glabetovan Uprising
|date=May 7th-28th, |place=Glabetov |result=Glabetovan Resistance Organization defeated, forced to cease operations |side1=Glabetovan Resistance Organization |side2= |side3= |side4= |commanders1= *Paul Anders† *Glabetovan Armed Citizens' Council |commanders2= *Colonel Kenneth Gallis† *Lieutenant Colonel (Temporarily promoted two grades on May 9th) |commanders3= |commanders4= |forces1= *Several thousand militia *Nine former Glabetovan Air Service aircraft *About one hundred light vehicles |forces2= * *Two squadrons * (From May 17th) |forces3= |forces4= |casual1= *1,692 killed *1,359 captured or wounded |casual2= *792 killed (790 servicemembers, two SPARTAN-III's) *823 wounded (818 servicemembers, five SPARTAN-III's) *63 missing |casual3= |casual4= }} The 2555 Glabetovan Uprising was an engagement between the forces of the and the Glabetovan Resistance Organization. When the UNSC returned to Glabetov in , the GRO's forces, acting under orders from Andrey Edwards, decided to hide out in the countryside and cease operations for a time under the cover of a ceasefire, having learned it was impossible to stop them from the Victorian Independent State's failed attempt to resist. With Edwards dead, the active militias formed a council of representatives from each group, who would decide when to launch the uprising, with Andrey Edwards at its head, who was to act as commander of militia forces during the revolt, and to become head of state in the case the operation was successful. The uprising began in the early hours of May 7th, as GRO fighters seized several key points within the colonial capital, calling other rebel units to rise as well. By May 11th, with most of the embroiled in urban combat to retake the capital, frontier detachments were quickly overwhelmed by GRO fighters, leaving most of the rural settlements under rebel control again. With the loss of the colony becoming a real possibility, , temporarily in command with the death of the Regiment's command staff in the initial attacks, sent a request for reinforcements to the UNSC. In response, arrived on May 14th, and set about suppressing the uprising. While the battle for the colonial capital was over three days after the SPARTANs' arrival, the operation to retake the settlements that had aligned with the rebels took another eleven, and cost the lives of two SPARTANs, with two more mildly wounded, and three grievously wounded. Despite the human toll the uprising had exacted on the UNSC, the response had effectively neutralized the GRO for several years. Course of the Uprising Initial Offensive The initial stage of the uprising began at 0529 Hours on May 7th, with an attack on Camp Lewis, the main base of the UNSC garrison on the planet. Nine former Glabetovan Air Service aircraft, modified to be remotely controlled by rebels on the ground and packed with and various pieces of explosive ordnance that escaped capture by the UNSC, crashed into key buildings, destroying several , killing the garrison commander, Colonel Kenneth Gallis, and causing general havoc across the base In the hour following the attack, GRO fighters living in the city or who had hidden in the sewers in the days prior captured several key buildings, in particular the colonial parliament, planetary communications relay, police headquarters, and station. Other units simply fortified sections of the city in preparation for a long-term battle. By 0800 Hours, all of the key buildings had been captured, the UNSC garrison and colonial government not having expected a rebel uprising due to the GRO's apparent disarmament in the ceasefire, which had been nothing more than a elaborate ruse. After the communications relay had been captured, the fighters broadcast a pre-recorded message across the planet declaring that the uprising was underway. While laden with pro-independence rhetoric, its main purpose was to notify those militia units on the frontier that they had a window of time to accomplish their objectives while the UNSC was still dazed from the initial strike. In response, GRO-aligned units began seizing settlements, quickly overwhelming the small UNSC presence on the frontier. With the capital's maglev station under the control of the GRO and most transportation arteries into the city covered by rebel forces, the UNSC garrison, already stunned from the surprise attack, was forced to prepare to land troops in the capital by air to retake at least one route in. At the same time, Captain was promoted two steps to Lieutenant Colonel, and given command of the remaining forces by General , commander of all units in the and neighboring systems. While the intended succession was that command was to go to the executive officer of the Regiment, the death or incapacitation of most of the unit's command staff in the strike on Camp Lewis left the Captain as one of the only available officers. UNSC Counterattack and Call for Reinforcements After taking command, Czernek gave the order for all resources to be focused on retaking the capital, as the rebel units on the frontier were isolated and could be dealt with the future. To make ready for an airlift into the city, UNSC Air Force personnel were forced to work almost nonstop for the flightline be ready for the operation in time. In the early hours on May 11th, the troops of the Regiment loaded into , with air support being provided by the UNSC Air Force -equipped 16th Attack Squadron. At 0605 Hours on May 11th, the first UNSC forces began attempting to wrest control of positions along the main route into the capital from the GRO. The initial landing was disastrous, as D79-TC dropships were destroyed as they dropped off their troops by RPG wielding rebels, forcing the other craft to land several kilometers away, where they could count on the gunships to be able to neutralize any threats among the lighter rebel presence at the new drop zone. Over the course of the next eleven hours, UNSC forces struggled to clear out all the rebels, their caution of ambushes or explosives causing them to move at a slow pace. However, by 1800 Hours, a corridor had been carved for the rest of the Regiment to move into the city and begin the process of retaking it. With reports of the casualties reaching Lieutenant Colonel Czernek, he sent a request for reinforcements to General Hogan, accompanying it with a casualty report and reports of the GRO's progress on the frontier as determined by reconnaissance by . Hogan quickly relayed the request up the chain, as none of his forces would be able to cease their own anti-insurgency operations to help halt the uprising. Czernek was told by HIGHCOM to continue fighting the uprising until reinforcements arrived on May 17th. Sending a message of reception, the Lieutenant Colonel ordered about 1,500 troops of the Regiment into the city, with the rest remaining at Camp Lewis to prevent any possible rebel attack on the base. On May 12th, the first elements of the Regiment began moving into the city itself, and as they left the controlled corridor, they were met with fierce resistance, causing them to go building-to-building in order to clear out the rebels. The Marines' progress soon slowed to barely a block per day as they were harried by ambushes and snipers, including infamous sharpshooter Elijah Cavorel. On May 15th, the UNSC suffered the worst loss of life in any one firefight during the battle. The regiment's 6th Company, in an attempt to stop a particularly well-defended rebel position, split into two groups, with one, numbering about 130 men, moving around to the ostensibly less defended flank of the position, with the others continuing in the engagement. However, the GRO forces saw the group of UNSC Marines leaving the position, and immediately radioed several other units in the vicinity to reinforce the flanks to encircle and destroy the detachment. The rebels' decision caused the 130 man-strong force to become trapped, forcing them to abandon their vehicles and retreat back to UNSC lines or risk total destruction, but not before an estimated thirty men were killed and another forty wounded in the encirclement. As a result of the horrific losses his forces were taking, Czernek gave the order for no offensive operations to be carried out until reinforcements arrived, leaving the battle for the city in a stalemate. Delta Company Arrives GRO Surrender and Aftermath Category:Safe Havens